Kyle Edmund ready to lead GB after spectacular Melbourne journey

YORKSHIRE'S Kyle Edmund has given Great Britain's Davis Cup team a boost by committing to travelling to next week's first-round tie against Spain.
Britain's Kyle Edmund will become British No 1 on March 5. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)Britain's Kyle Edmund will become British No 1 on March 5. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)
Britain's Kyle Edmund will become British No 1 on March 5. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)

The 23-year-old struggled with a minor hip problem during his semi-final defeat to Marin Cilic at the Australian Open on Thursday, a result that halted his stunning run in Melbourne.

Yorkshireman Edmund made it clear after the match that he hoped to go to Marbella, where he is due to lead Britain’s team for arguably the toughest test in the competition, away to Spain on clay.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

It is a tight turnaround, with Edmund due to arrive back in London today and the team set to fly to Spain on Monday to begin their preparations, but his spokesman confirmed he is hopeful of being ready to play.

Edmund’s great leap forward in Australia came after a season where his ranking was stuck in the high 40s. Now he will sit in the mid-20s and has already ticked a lot of the boxes he hoped to achieve in 2018.

“I didn’t want a third year of being around that same ranking,” he said. “I knew my ability was better, but there’s no point just saying you can be better. That was a goal. Of course doing well in the bigger events, and I wanted to win a lot more closer matches.

“The start of the year has been really good for that, so there’s a lot of learning. I have taken away confidence from that. Definitely in the short term, stuff that we have talked about is improving, but tennis doesn’t stop. Players get hungry from losing. It’s important to keep the ball rolling.”

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Coach Fredrik Rosengren has no doubt he has the potential but the 57-year-old knows there is a lot more to it than that.

He said: “For me there’s never any obstacles, it’s completely up to Kyle – how much work he wants to put in, how much desire he has. He has all the tools, I 100 per cent believe in that.”

When the rankings are updated on Monday, Edmund will only be 293 points behind Andy Murray and guaranteed to replace him as British No 1 once the Scot’s points for winning Dubai last season come off on March 5. Murray has held top spot domestically for 12 years.